


your hand in mine

by WishingTree



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: F/F, just handholding and fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:33:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27210505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishingTree/pseuds/WishingTree
Summary: Obviously, Carmen knows how to vanish without a trace - she’s great at disappearing, whether it be into a crowd or into thin air. It’s an excellent thing to have an aptitude for in her line of work, but it’s a little less convenient for Julia. When she isn’t being hyperaware of her every movement and the details of her surroundings, Julia tends to just… lose track of her.Clearly, she needs a solution, and so she comes up with an easy one.Hold Carmen’s hand.
Relationships: Julia "Jules" Argent/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Comments: 11
Kudos: 378





	your hand in mine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AvaHasAClosetMurderBoard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvaHasAClosetMurderBoard/gifts).



> Title from 'Your Hand in Mine' by Explosions in the Sky;

Obviously, Carmen knows how to vanish without a trace – she’s great at disappearing, whether it be into a crowd or into thin air. It’s an excellent thing to have an aptitude for in her line of work, but it’s a little less convenient for Julia when she blinks and then immediately loses sight of her at any given time. 

She knows Carmen doesn’t purposefully try to lose her unless she has a good reason, not anymore, but a lifetime of training is hard to shake. These instincts and skills are the only reason Carmen has stayed free and unharmed this long, after all, and Julia won’t fault her for it. 

All she wants is a way to reassure herself that Carmen is there until she isn’t. As it stands, when she isn’t being hyperaware of her every movement and the details of her surroundings, Julia tends to… lose track of her. Clearly, she needs a solution, and so she comes up with an easy one.

Hold Carmen’s hand.

The first time she does just that, slipping her hand into Carmen’s as they’re ambling down the street, Carmen blinks once but doesn’t flinch, taking it into stride. It’s nice, having a steady physical reminder of her presence, and Julia finds something inside of her relaxing at the contact. 

“Trying to keep me from running off?” Carmen jokes, her voice amused but the furrow of her brow telling Julia that she’s at least a little concerned. “Because, you know there will be times when I – ” 

“Oh no, my intention is not to keep you constrained in any way,” Julia hurries to clarify, “Just, I much prefer knowing when you have to go than turning around mid–sentence to find you’ve already vanished.” 

Carmen almost looks surprised at that, eyebrows raising as she tilts her head, but then her gaze softens and a smile grows on her face.

“I mean, there’s an easier way to achieve that, you know,” Carmen laughs, eyes glowing with amusement as she nudges her gently, “I could just start telling you. I didn’t realize it was bothering you, I’m sorry, I promise I’ll keep it in mind.” 

“Ah, of course that would be appreciated,” Julia grins at her and pointedly squeezes Carmen’s hand, “But I quite like this way, don’t you?” 

Carmen laughs, but when she pulls her closer instead of shaking her off, Julia counts it as an agreement.

This becomes a routine, one that Julia heartily approves of. Whenever they’re able to spend time together outside of work, they’ll end up holding hands until Carmen has to run off. Squeezing her hand before slipping away is a functional way to alert Julia, and it’s especially helpful when Carmen gets distracted and only intends to step away for a moment.

It’s one such moment now when Julia feels a jolt as her arm gets yanked in the opposite direction of the way they’re headed.

“Wha – ”

“Whoops, sorry!” Carmen is sheepish where she’s drawn to a halt. “I forgot, that’s my bad, but come with me! I remembered there’s something I want to show you.” 

Laughing, Julia links their arms together and hums happily, letting her lead the way through the city and content with wherever Carmen’s taking her. It’s a beautiful day, clear skies with the sun shining high, and Carmen is rambling excitedly about her latest discovery, a bakery a few blocks away. A light breeze ruffles the loose wisps of Carmen’s hair that are falling out of her bun, some of them just barely tickling against Julia’s cheek, and Julia wouldn’t mind if she stayed like this forever.

It’s later in the day that Carmen’s steps slow and her body subtly takes on a guarded sort of alertness, casual and hidden under a flawless layer of feigned ease. This close to her, Julia can hear the faintest sound of a voice relaying information to her via her earpiece and surmises that she has something to attend to. 

Before she can say anything, Carmen squeezes her hand and leans towards her. 

“I’ll be okay,” she whispers, and Julia feels the ghost of a kiss pressed to her temple before Carmen is gone. 

There’s a tinge of worry that makes itself known under her wave of fondness, as there always is, but that’s alright. She knows Carmen will be back.

Julia is roaming the aisles of the grocery store first thing in the morning, trying to remember whatever it is she feels like she’s forgetting when Carmen finds her.

“Hey Jules.” 

“Oh!” She spins around to see Carmen there in her red hoodie, smiling under the fluorescent lights and holding a pack of cookies. “Good morning!” 

She looks flawless as always, perfectly put together while Julia is wearing her pyjama shirt under her coat and is also pretty sure she still has some bedhead. With anybody else she’d be embarrassed, but she knows Carmen won’t judge.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Carmen says, stifling a laugh at her joke that really shouldn’t be funny after all this time, and yet somehow still is. They both know their meetings are anything but coincidence anymore. “How’s it going?” 

Julia shrugs in reply, adjusting her glasses and unable to hide the pleased flush on her face, and Carmen steps forward. 

“Good morning,” she murmurs, leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to her cheek before pulling away and holding her hand out for Julia’s basket. She wiggles her fingers until Julia passes it over, and then she beams and sticks her cookies into it. “I’ll pay for them, don’t worry.” 

Julia rolls her eyes affectionately, reaching out to poke her in the shoulder with her now unoccupied hand as she goes to head for the checkout, but Carmen catches it in her own and entangles their fingers. 

“Oh?” Julia laughs again, not minding the contact in the slightest, and especially not minding it if this means Carmen plans to stick around, at least for a little while.

“It’s so nobody gets lost,” Carmen says innocently, gently swinging their clasped hands back and forth. She grins and then makes a show of examining the contents of the basket before glancing around the store. “Now, what is it you were looking for?” 

It’s a simple question, but Julia doesn’t have an answer and so she shrugs.

“You, I think.” 

Carmen actually stumbles at the words, causing Julia to turn to her in alarm. “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m…” Carmen clears her throat and recovers, and Julia wonders if she’s imagining the way she’s blushing before she’s distracted by Carmen beaming at her proudly. “Sorry, I just – I didn’t think you had it in you Jules, using lines like that. Way to go!” 

“What – oh, no, I didn’t – ” she stutters, promptly forgetting what she was doing and going to pull away, “I didn’t intend for it to be a _line_ , it was just – I was just, um…” 

“Hey, hey,” Carmen soothes, gripping her hand tighter and not letting go, “I’m just teasing, I know what you meant! Besides,” she gives her a lopsided grin, and Julia’s heart skips a beat. “I may be the one on the run, but I think I’ve been looking for you too.” 

Julia forces herself to take a deep breath, relaxing her shoulders where she hadn’t noticed them creeping up around her ears. Her cheeks are definitely burning now, but she still gives Carmen an amused smile. “Okay, well, mine was an accident, but yours certainly sounds like a line to me.”

“And if it was?” Carmen raises an eyebrow, smirking at her and tugging on her hand.

Julia shrugs again and lets herself be pulled forward, making sure not to knock her hip against the grocery basket Carmen’s still holding. “Well, it seems you’ll just have to stick around and find out, won’t you?”

Carmen laughs and pulls her in even closer, and Julia never lets go of her hand.


End file.
